Novelist Walter Mosley, author of more than 60 books and one of America’s most celebrated writers, will headline the second annual New Hampshire Book Festival on Friday, October 3 in Concord at Capitol Center for the Arts.
In a special keynote conversation with Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of 16 psychological thrillers, Mosley will discuss his life, work, and the latest installment in his iconic Easy Rawlins series, “Gray Dawn” (published Sept. 16). Though he’s based in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles, Mosley also has New England roots — he graduated from Johnson State College in Vermont.
Ahead of his Concord appearance, Mosley spoke with Elaine Loft of the Book Festival.
Elaine Loft: Easy Rawlins made his first appearance in 1990, 35 years ago. Has your thinking about Rawlins evolved over the years?
Walter Mosley: Writing about anyone, anything, or any place — if it is good writing — is either evolving, revolving, or revolting (as in revolution). What’s important about Easy Rawlins is that he is aging along with the social, racial, technological, and political world that he lives in.
Not long ago, I was reading about this shale some hundreds of feet below the western coast of South America. Scientists found these ancient microbial life forms there, this life that had not evolved in a billion years. This is because, as Darwin postulated, “If the world around you does not alter, neither will you.”
EL: Has the genre of crime fiction been outpaced by the plethora of true crime?
WM: I don’t think so. So-called true crime is always an enigma. You never get answers to the deeper questions, answers that explain the world in which we live.
EL: Have any aspects of your college years at Goddard College and Johnson State College in our neighboring state of Vermont made their way into or influenced your fiction?
WM: I’m sure that my experiences in Vermont have had a profound effect on my writing. I just don’t know what those effects are. So much of the writing life and the writing itself is unconscious.
EL: You’ve written two books about writing. What’s your current advice to aspiring writers?
WM: Write on the same work (i.e., same book or article) every day, until that task is finished. Write every day, every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
EL: Will this be your first visit to New Hampshire? If so, what do you think you will find in the Granite State?
WM: New Hampshire is a beautiful place, and I’ve been there numerous times. New England is so interesting because each state has such a clear and particular character.
EL: If you were given a do-over, is there anything you’d do over?
WM: I’d be afraid to change anything. This is because what I believe will be better might well not be, and anything changing could be catastrophic.
Join 2025 NH Book Festival keynote author Walter Mosley in conversation with Hank Phillippi Ryan at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 3 at the Chubb Theater in the Capitol Center for the Arts.
For tickets: https://www.ccanh.com/show/25000446
More about Walter Mosley:
Walter Mosley is the author of 60 critically acclaimed books of fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and plays. His work has been translated into 25 languages. From his first novel, “Devil in a Blue Dress” with protagonist Easy Rawlins, Mosley’s work has explored the lives of Black men and women in America — past, present and future — in a rich exploration of genre.
He has had several books adapted for film and TV, including “Devil in a Blue Dress,” “Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned,” “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” starring Samuel Jackson, and “The Man in My Basement” starring Willem Dafoe. He also wrote and served as executive producer for the John Singleton series “Snowfall.” His short fiction and essays have been published in a wide range of outlets, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Nation.
He has won numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, The Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, a Grammy, several NAACP Image awards and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, he was named the recipient of the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement from the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and was awarded the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award from the National Book Foundation. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mosley now lives in Brooklyn and Los Angeles.